Gang-plow.



E. C. CURTIS.

GANG PLOW. APPLICATION FILED AUG.10, 1909.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

E h! A ummM E. C.- CURTIS.

GANG PLOW.V l APPLIOATIN FILED AUG. 10, 1909. 1,006,440. Patented oct.17,1911.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET z. w t; .4

Mm m;

E. C. CURTIS.

GANG PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1o, 190s.

1,006,440. Patented 001;. 17,1911.

a SHEETS-SHEET a.v

f mn.

UMTEID sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

ELON lC. CURTIS, OF CROSBY, vNOIRIJH DAKOTA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO L. A.. O.

I {LI'OIIEI-I, 0F CROSBY, NORTH DAKOTA.

GANG-PLOW.

Speciicaton of`Letters Patent. Patented ct. 17, l1911.

Applieaun filed August 1o, 1909. semi no. 512,211.

-To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ELoN C. CURTIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Crosby, in the county of Williams and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful.A Improvements in Gang-Flows, of which the following is a specificatioz'il My invention relates to an-v improvement in gang plows, and the primary object is to provide plows .adapted especially for attachment to allxmakes of traction engines.

A further object is to vprovide means for raising and 'lowering the plowsfrom a com-` mon point`;,to provide means whereby the plows .may be swung to one side or lifted f Qutofthe soil momentarily as they strike LV an obstruction; to provide lmeans for raising and lowering t-he forward ends of the vbeams,for adjusting them..sidewise as Yrequired without the necessity of'stopping the, machine; to provide means toliberate one or more gangs of plows in case an unpassablel obstruction is struck without injury to the remainder of the machine; to provide means for regulating the depth of furrow, and for supporting and carrying the plows entirely upon the gage rollers when occasion requires it; to provide means for adjust-ing the entire plow laterally with respect to the .draftmechanism, and for detaching the plow as occasion may require it from'the engine or other draft mechanism.

F urthermore, it is an object of my present vof construction and combinations of-parts which .will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawingsz-Figure 1 is a 'plan view5 Fig. 2 1s a side elevation, 3 1s an enlarged detached view in plan .of one of the gangs, Fig. 4 isla side elevation ofthe latter, Fig. 5 1s an enlarged. detail' showing the guide, the slidable head, the locking mechanism, and the .block and tackle of the'ileft hand gang, Fig. 6 is an en-` larged detail showing the gage wheel shank, sleeve, guiding spring, and a portionof the 'cable'and sheave, Fig. 7 is va section on line 7- 7 of Fig. 8, and Fig. 8 l'is a side view showing one of the vertically adjustable slides and the T -shaped guide upon which it moves, and other connected parts.

l The frame of the gang plow is preferably triangular in form, as shown in Fig. 1, and comprises a double axle l, mounted at the ends in the wheels 4, 4, the double diagonal draft beam 2, 2, connected directly at the right hand end to the corresponding end of the axle, and connected, with the axle throughout its length by means'of longi@ tudinal bars 3, 3, three of which are illustrated, and the rear end of the diagonally- 'disposed double draft beam 2 is supported by means of a castenwheel 5.

The plows 6, 6, are arranged in gangs o'f twos, their beams 7, "i,V beingconnected lat therear by means of a brace 8, and at the forward e'ndby means of astrap iron 9, j

bolted at the sides as at 10, l0. A brace 11 extends across from beam to beam, as shown so,y

in Fig. 3, and centrally supports the vertically-disposed sleeve 12, and through this sleeve l2, the shank 1B is loosely andeV slidably mounted. This shank is bifurcated at its lower end to str addle the gage wheel`14,

. the latter being mounted on an axle 14a held in the lower end of the shank, and a brace 15 pivotally connected with the ends of the axle 14a extends forwardly and is pivoted at its forward end to the rearpin 10, as shown in Fig. 3. A spring 15a supported on a lug v`15b bears upwardly against a projection Al5c on the shankl, whereby to normally l Iraise theA-gage'wheel 14 as high as it will go,

and permit the plows to cut 1nto the ground a greater or less depth. -This depth of furrowis regulated by means of a collar 15d- -which is adjust-ably secured on the shank 13' just below the sleeve 12 by means of the set screw 15e which collar may be placed at different ypositions on the shank to suit the requirements. In this connection, it may be mentioned that provision is made for lower#V ing the gage wheels to a point below thev plows, Athereby raising the plows .above the groundzwhe'nthe plow is being transported om place to place, and this'may 'be easily accomplished by lifting the lows,V and forcing the shank 13 jdownwardy until the hole 15g is brought into registry withrthe hole in 151.V is inserted iold the parts in thel namely to cause the gage wheel 14. The plowsarehinged in gang'srof `twovsrat their .forward ends by means ofhorizolfally disare connected by y straps 16c .to the-angle-iron 16, by means of 16a, and the angle. iron l6- is secured to .the strap plate 9 by The hinge-pin 17 protrudesat its ends through orifices 171 f in the shanks vof the adjustable slides 23. ere` are two of these adjustableslides 23 and-they are constructed and adapted to embrace the vertiguides 24, see Figs.' 7 and 8. The adjustment of'these slides is 'b the mediumof screws 21, ortion-s of which register readed orifices in the ears project outwardly., from the screws being swiveled at 5, whereupon' the through these holesto adjustment mentioned, plows to ride. upolfthe posed pins 17, .which latter thel wooden l.break-pins means of'bolts or rivets 16?.

for each gang .of plows,

cally-disposed T-shaped effected through 21, the threadedwith and turn'in t 18, 18, which slides 23,23, the

@head 27. In other words, there are four sets lof sheaves for the right hand gang, `and nthese sheaves decrease by one toward the gang has three sets two sets, and the the purpose of which is cable 33 is secured at 34, thence it passes back and forth around rst aroundv the set to the right, thence to the next set, manner, and thence successively, whereupon the cable is guided around the idleroller 35, and extends to thefdrum 36 which latter' is loosely mounted on shaft 37 of the engine, the drum being held'between collar shaft, and the. collar 39 atljustablysecured on the shaft, between which rum, a spring to frictionally' ch left-that is the second of sheaves, the third, xfourth, one set,

readily understood. A

the pulleys-or sheaves to the left in the same rl .to thenext two sets 38 fixed on the collar 'aid the head of the d 40 is compressed, whereby the the friction wheel 431s th tional engagement with drive pulley 44, and upon the release of the lever, it is thrown ack, and the friction wheel 43 is pressed against the brake 48 lpiing 49, whereby the shaft and drum aree porting the plows in their elevatedV The action which takes right hand A short chainor-other 55, extends'more or less cotter pin to the corresponding king-bolt 29, as, shown in Fig,- 4. A The struction, and of the wooden break-pins 16,

b 1s to. permit a. gang or gangs of plows to rea 41 'and 42; the box 42 the following reason. wheel 43 on to the movable ba'r 42 in This 1s done by means of er in one direction,

rown into -fricby means of a strong against a backward turn, thus supplace w 'en the arrangement is to avoid leaving a triangular space at the end of a furrow unplowed.

Returning to the spring Cotter-pins 54, they are` retained in the upper ends of the Shanks 13, 13, by strain ris downward, th tight .s o t friction, andas all the ey\ are suiciently hat the parts operate successfully. flexible connection directly from each an immovable stone,

which is fulcrumed vat 46,. andconnected by link 47 to the bearing box. By moving this handle secure the drum 36 -upon the shaft, so that in case of .excessivel strain, the druniwould turn without turning ythe shaft. The shaft is j ournaled in boxes is slidable, and for Tlshaft 37 carries a friction the end "adjacent losition.

their upper ends in orifices through the\ Cable iS WOllIld -OII the-d11lm 1S t0 IIIOVG the iiange 25 at the upperv ends ofthe guides Crossheads 27 successlvely forward toward 24, collars 22, 22, bemg securedon the screws the klug bolts, the right hand one first, then above and below'the flange 25. These T the next, and'l so on vthrough the sets of shaped'- guides 24, 24, arel secured on op'po-L gangs; and all but the rlght hand set are site sides of the draw-bar 26. The draw-bar provided with a spring catch-50, as shown 26, and the guideplate 28 are pivotally con- Ifigf, which receives and holds the pronected with theitwo-part diagonally -dis. ]ec t`1on51 on.the cross-head 27. As ,these posed draft bar 2, as shown in Fig. 4, by cross-headsl are drawn forward, they pull means of the king'bolt 29, vand inthis way, 'on the chain or 'other flexible connection 52 435 provision is made for the plowsl to swing around the pulleys 53, and by thelr enlaterally as an obstruction is met-. ,The gagement with the spring Cotter-pins 54,

cross-head 27 vhas a .loose slidable connection they force the Shanks 13 and the gage wheels with the outer4 end of the guide-plate 2 8, 14 downwardly, thus elevating the plows.

and isadapted to'move toward the forward As the greater number of pulleys in a block 4o end of the plat-e and back to its normal poand tackle lessen the power required to ro` f sition,V thereb'yto raise andrlower the plow. duce movement,v it insures the lifting o the f n the upper-end of the right hand king rightghandk gang first, and the others succeslbolt 29, four. sheaves 30, 30, are mounted, 'sively inthe orderof their arrangement, and

anda corresponding number 32ers mounted the catches 50. on all-of` the other gangs are 454 on stud 31 carried on the right-hand crossof 'sufficient tension to hold them until the object of thisconk loose under an abnormal strain, such as striking a stump or by breaking the pins16, and pulling out 'Cotter-pin, .which latter disconnects the ain or lexible connection 5,2 from the l time, as for instance, when it is desirable to haul the ploow upon a wagon, or by a team in moving it 'from place to place.` Another advantage is that in soft ground where 1t may be impossible to passt'hrough with the traction engine, the plow might be detached,

and the engine run around the place,`andl after reaching the other side, the plow could be drawn along at the end of a ropey or chain, thus plowing through the soft or wet `ground which is any advantage overI other .gang plows operated by traction engines, where the attachment is more or less. permanent, and it is necessary tol skip ground of this character. The tongue -is also adjustable laterally by means of the bolts 58, 58, passing-through holes 59, 59. If, for

Y, instance, one of the gangs was removed, for

any-reason, it would be vnecessary to'shift the tongue to one side to bring the draft at a central point. It should also be mentioned that a crew, consisting of engineer and fireman, for running the traction engine, is suf- -iicient to also operate my` improvedplow. The adjustments, namely the raising and lowering of the plows bodily, or the vert-ical or sidewise adjustment of the plow beams to compensate for any bend or twist which may take place in the plow beam due to'hitting an obstruction, may all be accomplished without stopping the machine.-

In operation, very brieliy reviewing what has already been said, when the plows are to be lifted out of the ground, the lever 45 is grasped and by shifting the friction wheel 43 into engagement with the `drive pulley 44, the cable 33 is wound on the drum 36, and the right hand gangv is first lifted, and then the others successively toward the left, the other three being held by means of a latch 50 so that in lowering the plows by reversing the action, and bringing the wheels 43 to -an intermediate point between the drive pulley 44 and the brake 48, the plows are lowered in'4 the same order in which they are lifted. The forward ends of the beams for each gang arev individually ad-l justed by means of the screws 21, they being turned to raise or lower the beams to regulate the inclination of the plow andthe depth of furrow, or one screw may be'turned more than the other to adjust the beam sidewise to compensate for a bend or twist, and to regulate the position of the plow itself, the collars 15r1 are set at the requiredpo'int on the shanksl, and when not otherwise resisted, the tensionvof the spring 15a is suf-4. cient to raise the' shanks 13 until stopped by thecollars, 15d.-

More or less slightchanges might'be resorted toin the form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from.` the spirit and scope of my invention, and-hence I do not wish to limit nayself tothe exact construction herein set forth, but A Having fully Letters Patent, is

nected therewith,lgraduated sets of sheaves 4for each gang, a cable successively connected described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by 1.- A plow comprising a frame, gangs con.

with ythe several sheaves of the different gangs and means for applying tension to the cable whereby the gangs are successively raised or lowered by means of the one cable.

2. In a gang plow, the combination of a frame, a draw-bar and guide-plate pivotally connected with the frame, a cross-head slidably connected with the `guide-plate, a vertically disposed guide connected with the Y draw-bar, a slideadjustable vertically on said vertical guide, and a plow gang connectedv with said slide and connected'to said cross-head.

3. In a gang plow, the combination of a L frame, a draw-bar and guide-plate pivotally connected with the frame, a cross-head slidably connected with the guide-plate, a

vertically disposed guide connected with the l draw-bar, a slide adjustable vertically on said vertical guide, and a plow gang hinged to said slide and connected to said crosshead. y 4.- In a gang plow, the combination, of a losA frame, a draw-bar and guide-plate pivotally connected with the-frame, a cross-head slidably connected with the guide-plate, a ver'- tically disposed guide connected with the. draw-bar, a, slide adjustable vertically on said vertical guide, a plow gang hinged to said slide and connected tosaidcross-head, and means for raising and lowering the several gangs of plows on their hinges from a common point. v 5. In a gang plow, the combination with aframe, of a :slidable cross-head thereon,

plow gangs hinged to the frame, a sleeve connected with each ang, a gage wheel, the shank of which has s lding connection in the sleeve, a spring cotter pin Jfrictionally held in the shank, a flexible connection extending from the pin to the frame, and from the pin to the slidable cross-head, and brake pins connecting the plow gangs tothe frame, whereby when the plows strike an obstruc,n tion sutlicient to break the pins, the cotter pins will be withdrawn and the plow gangs released.

6. In a gang plow, the combination with l10 to the'A left, lacable extendin first,A around v 'a frame, drav'v-bars and guide-plates pivtvnected with the `next gang, and finally ally Iconnectedtherewithyking bolts for pivaround the eight pulleys connected with the 'j otallyconnecting these partsto the frame of right hand gang where it is fastened, and t the plow, cross-heads slidably connected with mela-ns for applymg draft to the cable where- 5 each guide plate and carrying `a' stud, the bythe gangs are, successively raised or 3 beams of the plows havingy hlnged ad'ustlowered. v

able connection with said drawfba-rs, puile s In testimony whereof I aliix my signature,

journaled on the studs and king bolts, sa1d in the presence ofutwo. Witnesses.

. pulleysv decreasing innumbery from the right ELON al CURTIS.

the tWo= pulleys at the left, t ence the four Witnesses: y

. pulleys connected with the' gang next to the (LA. right,.thence around thesix pulleysA con- VERNON E. Honoris.

Copies ot this'patent may be obtained Lor ve Acents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, 1).-0." 

